Doing business with JILL BURNELL? BEWARE.

[mbm]

fwiw, i do know that at least 4 years ago some of the folks that lived on her old road had a petition going to take to the county because of the number of animals she had on her property. I have no idea where that petition went, but folks were trying to raise the alarm -= even back then.

around here you can only have 1 horse per half acre unless you have a special dispensation.

as for the land where she is now - never say never, but while it may not perc now, with how septic systems are always changing it may very well perc at some point in the future when they go to other things besides mound systems etc.

[Daventry]

Hillside is correct. Even if she is convicted by Marin County, normally it is just a combination of fines and a ban from owning horses for, for example, 5 years. As Hillside said, that would only be enforceable within the State of California. Sadly, she would be able to move to another State and own whatever she likes More than likely, what I see happening is that the property will foreclose (and the former owners will be on the hook for that one - didn’t someone mention they are carrying the mortgage or something?), and they can just pick up and leave the State and start all over again. Thankfully, MANY of us will be right there to kick her back down! :mad:

As was stated yesterday, the press release for today was just for the local area and news and was just to be a generic press release. Obviously, the horse community already has that information, but the general public didn’t.

Monday morning is when the big press release comes out regarding Jill’s property. I will post it as soon as I receive it. Promise!

[Laurierace]

I was literally wishing her luck in getting her foal registered as it would decrease the value if it was not. I wasn’t criticizing, I was trying to wish her well. I hope she does get it registered as I did and all is well.

[horsenut93136]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;6765596]
I was literally wishing her luck in getting her foal registered as it would decrease the value if it was not. I wasn’t criticizing, I was trying to wish her well. I hope she does get it registered as I did and all is well.[/QUOTE]

I understand that Laurie, but someone marketing a foal might not see it that way. Suggesting the foal they are promoting might only bring them 1/2 of what they are asking. Very well could be true, but if the situation were reversed and it was 2011? when your mare was in foal to RW you might not want someone posting that either.

Just saying I’d rather see the negatives directed at GFF. The people who have done business with her should not be all lumped in the same category unless we know all the circumstances.

[Laurierace]

I didn’t think of it that way although she is selling it in utero and the registration status is very much an unknown. I apologize if it came across as hurtful as that was not even a little bit my intention.

[Blacklabs]

question

As this proceeds down the legal road would it be helpful to get statements from area vets that they would not go to JB farms since she has not paid her bill with them? I’m sure all of them went unpaid.
Could it be used against her in court since she had broodmares,foals and stallions and no vet care?

[horsenut93136]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;6765610]
I didn’t think of it that way although she is selling it in utero and the registration status is very much an unknown. I apologize if it came across as hurtful as that was not even a little bit my intention.[/QUOTE]

agreed, but if I’m a perspective buyer I’m turned off by the comment and as you said there may or may not be an issue. Assuming she can’t remove the comment because it’s on RW’s page so she’s stuck with it unless you remove it
Sad that I feel the GFF kids need their own page on FB so they can commiserate

[Laurierace]

Ok but as a prospective buyer shouldn’t you know there is an extremely good chance that the stallion owner will not live up to her contractual obligations? I just deleted the comment. I would have happily done that when I posted it if I was asked.

[yeskatboxxx]

Jill’s former neighbor at the old address called us today and said that 3 separate times today, people have shown up with horse trailers looking for GFF (of course they were unable to reach her by phone) and they wanted to pick up their horse(s). The newspaper stories should have been more clear on the fact that she isn’t on Hannan Ranch Lane anymore.

[horsenut93136]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;6765643]
Ok but as a prospective buyer shouldn’t you know there is an extremely good chance that the stallion owner will not live up to her contractual obligations? I just deleted the comment. I would have happily done that when I posted it if I was asked.[/QUOTE]

If I was a prospective buyer that was concerned with papers I’d ask. I do understand what you are saying about warning a prospective buyer, just kinda feel since its unknown if it’s an issue it’s a breeder/buyer conversation. Why not give the MO and foal a chance. I think it was very nice of you to remove it, not everyone would have done that, so kudos to you I don’t know you or the MO otherwise I might have just sent a message on FB to ask

[horsenut93136]

[QUOTE=yeskatboxxx;6765656]
Jill’s former neighbor at the old address called us today and said that 3 separate times today, people have shown up with horse trailers looking for GFF (of course they were unable to reach her by phone) and they wanted to pick up their horse(s). The newspaper stories should have been more clear on the fact that she isn’t on Hannan Ranch Lane anymore.[/QUOTE]

I know you posted a link to the parcel #, but any chance you have detailed directions for those people that might have been enroute to pick up their horses?

[COTHalter44]

[QUOTE=yeskatboxxx;6765656]
Jill’s former neighbor at the old address called us today and said that 3 separate times today, people have shown up with horse trailers looking for GFF (of course they were unable to reach her by phone) and they wanted to pick up their horse(s). The newspaper stories should have been more clear on the fact that she isn’t on Hannan Ranch Lane anymore.[/QUOTE]

You may also want to contact the newspaper and ask them to edit their story.

I agree with those that are saying don’t chastise people that have already done business with JB. Now those that continue to support her are a different story… :mad:
I will say that when I first shared my story on here, I was read the riot act privately by an asshat on this board for even considering supporting her. I had no idea at the time and all I did was go to look back in 2011. Ridiculous.

I think that most of the registries are allowing DNA to be substituted in lieu of breeding certificates from JB - at least that is what I am understanding from my reading.

[sid]

Hillside – My only hope is based upon a similar experience, though on a much, much smaller scale, also “exposed” by a whistleblower, much like the OP (me and a witness who found near-death starved mare on a free lease from my farm with her foal – at that time, a BNT hunter breeder at that time).

In that case, we got them back after 3 months in rehab. Sadly, the mare owner did not file charges (wimp:mad:!)-- yet the exposure on this BB effectively shut her down and away from horses.

It turns out that the very small horse world turned out to be a good thing. As someone said on that old thread about my situation…“a bad rep, once exposed, stick like manure” it may have been Daventry. :lol: Once atrocities like these are exposed and VERIFIED, people like JB are run out of the business.

Of course, the financial damages to others, beyond the horse care issues, is massive. So this is SO much bigger and so much more extensive than in my case, I have faith that will happen to her as well.

Also, from what I read there are several issues facing JB:

1. Horse neglect (abuse)
2. Ponzi scheme business
3. selling, or attempting to sell property she does not own not own
4. residing on a property that is not zoned for human residency
5. false advertising
6. non-payment to services rendered for her “business”
7. copyright infringements (photo use)
8. if whe was writing bad checks (unknown) or “kiting” checks, that is a felony.

The list is massive, many of which are felonies. If the justice system fails (and we’ve all seen that happen), there are SO MANY offenses – any of these issues can bring her down.

As a side note: Our case was not publicized other than on COTH. It was the summer of 2005. Turns out the “big talk” around the Warrenton Horse show after the COTH exposure, was what that woman did and the disgust about it.

It made her poison. Word travels fast on show grounds…especially in the hunter/jumper breeding world.

My hope is that she is locked up and justice will be done for all these mare owners, breeders and anyone that was stung by her financially. First and foremost, the horses find justice and safety.

But if for some reason that does not happen, I can almost guarantee you there will not be a place left for her in the h/j breeding venue.

She’s crashed and burned and the house of cards is falling down, thanks to the SIL and COTH urging the victims to come out of the closet.

The moral of the story. BNT means squat. Beware of those who over sell, and over promote. In the horse world so many drink the koolaid. I did in MY case and I’m not proud of it. But she was so “protected” by IHF and USEF records, it allowed her to use that to her advantage of the unsuspecting.

It can happen to any of us.

Call me a pollyanna, but I still believe that the guys in the white hats will win. Just a pep talk, folks.

[sid]

BTW, does anyone know if there are any rules of “ethics” with the IHF or USEF.

This information needs to get to them…not that they’ll do anything.

I can only dream that these 2 organizations would take away the accolades once this is fleshed out in court.

Now THAT could drive a stake through the heart of horse businesses like this. :yes:

The more media exposure the better.

[Hillside_H_Ranch]

[QUOTE=Blacklabs;6765620]
As this proceeds down the legal road would it be helpful to get statements from area vets that they would not go to JB farms since she has not paid her bill with them? I’m sure all of them went unpaid.
Could it be used against her in court since she had broodmares,foals and stallions and no vet care?[/QUOTE]
If she has unpaid vet bills it would be up to the veterinarian’s to collect on the bills. There are no laws that require you to have veterinary care for horses.

[Hillside_H_Ranch]

Sid, I hope that you are right. I think that you are definitely correct in that the horse world is a small world and she may be “ruined” in that sense. Legally, I just don’t know. I used to be the animal welfare investigator for a large animal shelter and I’ve gone through the court system on several horrific cases. Sadly these people often go on to do the same types of things again and again and again and the punishment is often non-existent (sad as it is, animal welfare cases are low on the priority scale, compared to all of the other terrible crimes committed in our society today). However, the saving grace may be her geographic location because the area that she is in does have tougher welfare laws than most of the rest of the country. We will see how it plays out and I hope that it ends well for all of her animals, and that she doesn’t just relocate and start collecting again (which for someone with her issues is the most likely scenario).
But I think the key is, as you said, to make sure that the entire horse world knows and just doesn’t. do. business. with. her.

[sid]

Hopefully, the vendors she has stiffed, including vet services, know what is going on now and will jump on the bandwagon. Clearly, it would be more affordable to do with all of this exposed now, rather than going “solo” in small claims court with no “history” about her.

With all of this out there now, I would think they’d be crawling out of the woodwork. And that’s is a good thing.

[Sonesta]

FWIW, remember that you do not necessarily have to file a lawsuit against her in California. If you live in another state you MIGHT be able to argue that that state has jurisdiction (you’d need to speak to a lawyer in that state to find out. For example, if you entered into a contract of sale of your mare to her you might be able to argue that the contract was entered into in YOUR state where the mare was at time of sale.). In that case you wouldn’t have to go to California to file suit.

And in most states, small claims court does not require that you have a lawyer and all you pay is the filing fee (couple hundred dollars). You can then represent yourself and if the defendant doesn’t show up on day of trial, you get a default judgment.

Check the laws of your state to see what the upper limit is to file in small claims court and then, even if your actual damages are greater than that, file a case asking for the limit of damages. That way, you at least get a judgment without spending a lot of money, because collecting a judgment against her is going to be difficult. But with enough judgments against her claiming fraud all over the country, the feds just might begin to take interest.

[sid]

Hillside…if she is indeed a ‘hoarder’, which is a psychological problem, you may be right about her finding another venue to satisfy this bizarre craving, to the detrement of the creatures she finds herself needing to hoard.

In my case, the woman wasn’t a hoarder, but a crook.

But I never could figure out after seeing a picture of her on some IHF awards thing or handling in the oval ring at Devon, why she weighed about 250 lbs., and found my horses starved within days of their lives.

Creepy, really. Like you, I’m a hard-liner about animal care…even just the minimum is fine as long as they are fed appropriately and have adequate shelter and veterinary care when that expertise is needed. Fancy is never a prerequisite for good horse husbandry.

Whether she turns to seek other horses in other sport venues because she is mentally ill is to be seen. But in this small horse world, this effort will get her out of this venue for sure. One step at a time.

One of my best friend neighbors of many years is older now. But her daughter is an A rated h/j judge in West Palm and zooms all over the country judging h/j shows.

Last evening I sent the whole scoop to her to pass on to her daughter. Her daughter has a big heart for horses and a big mouth. Word will travel. I promise you.

[sid]

Edited to say… my sending this info to the h/j judging world would NOT affect their assessment of the offspring they are seeing in front of them by owners.

The point to send the info was just to pass the word to perhaps let them warn new breeders who might fall into JB’s trap.